Life with Lauren: Return to The Grand

Lauren had 2 full weeks off of school this year for spring break, which included Passover the first week and a trip to Nevada with Norm the second week. So with the few days she and I had together, I asked her if there was anywhere in particular she wanted to go. She didn't miss a beat. "The Grand Del Mar?" she hopefully inquired. Of course I should have known. After a fabulous few days there last August, it was the perfect solution. Only an hour from home but in a world of luxury and amidst landscape that made us feel like a world away.

It was only a couple of weeks before her birthday, so we decided our stay would be an early celebration too. The concierge at the hotel was only too happy to oblige. Our arrival to our beautiful room was punctuated by more than a warm welcome.

And what has now officially become one of our Grand Del Mar traditions, we simply had to test the quality of the bed.

[Our conclusion? Top-notch, hands down]

Within 10 minutes, though, she was raring to go. To the pool, you would assume? Nah. Directly to the Explorer's Club.

Where she begged to spend at least two hours playing and crafting. Naturally I obliged.

Especially since it gave me a stretch of uninterrupted time to read the paper and drink a really good cup of coffee. Then it was off to the pool for a late afternoon dip.

Followed by Lauren's choice for dinner: Room service.

The next morning, we indulged in a little surprise left on our pillows during turn-down service the prior evening.......... chocolate-covered Oreos.

OMG. Yes, they were that good. All that chocolate left us wanting for a little fresh air and exercise. So we paraded off to the tennis courts. Lauren proceeded to teach me a few tricks she learned during tennis camp last summer.

After all that running around, she couldn't wait to get back to the Explorer's Club to burn off even more steam.

Then it was time for a break with a free gelato (another birthday surprise from the hotel!), and a moment to reflect upon our beautiful surroundings.

We met up with Rebecca, an 8-year-old visiting from New York, whom Lauren had hung out with at the kid's club both days. They truly were inseparable during our brief stay.

On our last evening together, I treated Lauren to a special dinner offsite. She insisted I capture a shot of her standing on the balcony of our room. Unfortunately, it took a little longer than I thought it would to navigate my way outside while she waited for me, and she was none too happy about it.

Here's a closer view of the precious expression on her face that greeted me when I finally made it to the right spot and aimed the lens.

She recovered quickly, though, and we still managed to have a fun evening in Del Mar, punctuated by a little post-meal tree hugging.

Back at the Grand, live music was playing in the lounge, and our girl simply couldn't control her dancing feet.

Once again, we created magical memories at this incredible venue. On more than once occasion during our stay, she asked whether we could just live there.

I wish, baby, I wish. For now we'll have to suffice with bi-annual visits. ***************************************************** On my final day at The Grand, Lauren left with Norm for Nevada, where she had a rollicking good time with him and Kathy. Since I had another full day at the resort, Joe was able to join me. We had less than 24 hours, but as we always do, were able to pack as much into our schedule as possible. After a relatively mellow hour the day before on the courts with Lauren, I was itching to get back out there for a serious workout.

Which Joe decided to give me, assisted by a ball machine (which was left behind by the tennis instructors and I am very, very sure we were not supposed to use)

It took about 10 minutes for him to learn how to work the settings on the machine properly so it stopped launching ball after ball over the very high back fence and directly into a ravine. I was laughing so hard I seriously had to lay down on the court. But once the aim was corrected and I wiped my tears of mirth, we were off and running.

[Nice form, Babe]

[Even better] You'd think that for the level of service this resort provides, they would have had someone available to pick up the 200 balls strewn all over the court, right? Think again. Probably because nobody in their right mind uses 200 balls when playing on these courts unless they are engaging in a completely unauthorized use of equipment. No matter. Guess who jumped right in and looked like a total stud doing it?

After a dip in the jacuzzi to ease our tired muscles, we went to the beach for dinner at Jake's. Which included a very special bottle of wine Joe brought from home.